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In the mood for some inspirational reading: Check out my latest article featured on Unity.org:

Emily Dickinson suggested in one of her works that “Nature is what we see” and that image is the outpicturing of heaven itself. The final stanza is equally true:

Nature is what we knowBut have no art to say,So impotent our wisdom isTo Her simplicity.1

Emily Dickinson saw that the spirituality of her day was too complicated and called for a more natural spirituality—one that is both earth-centered and simple in its approach. This is equally true of our experience today. There is a natural order, yet we can make things complicated for those around us in our attempts to control and dominate our environment.

There is a natural flow within our lives as well, and as soon as we can tune into that frequency that is both around us in nature and within us spiritually, the closer we will be to peace. Our world is filled with clutter, noise, and distraction—things that contribute to feelings of disharmony.

Today is the birthday of Saint Mahaveera, a contemporary of Buddha and the founder of Jainism-which has origins in India, whereas Buddha’s work originated in or around Nepal. In honor of today, recognize that ‘Anekantvada‘ exists everywhere. There are infinite possibilities that exist today-your life, family, career, your “calling”, and everything attached to you is working for you to bring you your highest good-should YOU CHOOSE to see it that way.

For all of you Yogis out there and Spiritual Seekers (& Finders), I’ve provided an app that would grant you access to some great material that I offer ……..it’s spiritual psychology condensed just for your pleasure.

Similar to actual Yoga……my “Digital Yoga” app will allow you to position your mind in a state that will help those energies from within that we call the “Kaa“, “Chi”, “Kundalini” “Spirit” “The Numinous”….or whatever name you choose to call that wonderful energy that permeates our being,….to flow freely, organically and in the “right direction.”….

Check Out My Latest Article Featured in Elephant Journal Magazine:

“Angels and Demons”

The Lucifer Effect.

Have you ever awakened out of your sleep because of some unconscious urge that you couldn’t resist—whether that urge is something good or something bad? If that doesn’t apply to you, then can you remember a time in which you felt an overwhelming feeling to have, try, taste, touch, or experience something that would otherwise be taboo?

Some psychologists call it TheLucifer Effect—not in the sense of fundamental Christianity, but it does shine some light as to why good people seem to do some very bad things.

Whether you think that sexual relationships outside of a committed relationship is right or wrong—you have to admit that something had to be a catalyst to even trigger the idea to partake of the taboo. And sex isn’t our only coping mechanism—there are just as many addictions as there are stars in the sky. Our generation has even seen the addition of two brand new addictions to the behavioral disorder’s handbook-internet addiction and video gaming addictions.

I don’t believe it has anything to do with intelligence. In most cases, individuals that are “caught” with their hand in their respective cookie jars are probably reasonable people. I think that there is something bigger at play—impulses working within our souls that some of our religions and mythologies tried to warn us about.

Our religions and mythologies tell wonderful tales of angels and demons. To start with the more taboo notion, the word demon in the Greek is actually translates as the word “daimones” and it refers to an unconscious and sometimes conscious impulse or longing for something that overcomes an individual’s sense of judgment.

Now, depending on the society and culture in which you reside, that impulse may not be as harshly viewed. And there’s enough evidence from our history that exemplifies that—from the abuse of suspect classes, to less severe acts that only affect the individual partaking of them.

The stories that we hear of angels have the same effect—the word itself in Greek basically means messenger or message. We often describe our encounters with these supernatural energies as otherworldly and we often give them non-humanly attributes. Yet, our descriptions aren’t often far-fetched because it is difficult to describe a psychological and emotional encounter with words.

If angels and daimones are viewed correctly, we can see them as messages or impulses that arise up from our unconscious—on a soul level. It is what we choose to do with those messages by way of our interpretation and application of them that makes those impulses, hormones and overall feelings more demonic rather than angelic.

If we view God as embodying both masculine and feminine attributes, then maybe we can also view God as both love and law, angelic and daimonic, embodying a perfect balance of those two extremes. Nature is often peaceful, but it can also be violent when destructive weather patterns are taken into account.

But the key is found in finding balance.

It does not matter whether you can achieve harmony and balance through meditation, yoga, spiritual practice, or medication—as long as you do find that balance. None of us are exempt from being off-centered or more daimonic rather than angelic. Our experience of this dual nature is a part of the mystery that we call the human experience. But we do have the power of will, which enables us to take control over our souls, rather than allowing those inner voices and urges to take control over us.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting someone that would help me to meet who I would consider a very honorable man. Mona Joshi, the Atlanta director of the Art of Living Foundation has to be credited for telling me about H.H. Ravi Shankar’s Atlanta visit. John and Alice Holliday-2 African American teachers with the Art of Living Foundation along with Dean Carter from Morehouse College joined forces to create an event that would bring Sri Sri Ravi Shankar back to Atlanta, GA. Adored by millions around the world, I suspected that if (and that’s a big IF)-I had the opportunity to meet His Holiness face to face he would be as guarded as other spiritual teachers sometimes are. Not only was this teacher, open with me, but he shrug off his entourage and personally walked around the room and talked with everyone that was at the event.

It would be a disservice for me to not thank Dean Carter’s secretary, who I’ll call “Mrs. D”, for skipping me through the red tape so that I could get to the event. It’s those little moments that you can see that the Universe is on your side, and what you desire really indeed does desire you. So, in a James Bond sort of way, I ended up at the event, along with so many other great men and women-college presidents, Lieutenants of Dr. Martin L. King Jr., and many other great people.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was scheduled to be at the event in order to receive the prestigious Gandhi-King-Ikeda peace award, and have his portrait mounted in the MLK hall of preachers-which is a great honor in itself. His Holiness’ mission as of late has involved campaigning to respond to a recorded one-million acts of violence around the world with one-billion acts of non-violence. And I believe that it’s a noble campaign-one in which we all should endeavor to pursue in our own lives.

Back at the gathering, when it was my turn to meet His Holliness, I braced myself for what I thought would be a simple wave and dismissal. Yet, what I encountered wasn’t the persona of someone otherworldly-I encountered what Bishop John Shelby Spong describes as a person who lives their life so full of compassion that those who walk with him see God at work in that life. His Holiness was kind, open, and very much down to earth. In fact, we shared laughs later on that evening while the crowds were mingling. Stereotypes can be a pain, and when you are doing the best you can, with what God has given you, it is terrible that certain stereotypes can keep you back from performing the work in which you were called to do. Well, this teacher didn’t allow the Guru-myth to keep him from being who he is, and after my encounter, I won’t allow the Guru-myth from allowing me to see the beauty in that sacred tradition.

Bishop Craig Bergland, an interspiritual Bishop and presider of the Universal Anglican Church puts it this way:“Some people resist the term Guru because they associate Gurus with cults that kidnap people and isolate them from their families and friends. That’s a mistaken understanding of Gurus and spiritual teachers. Formal Gurus are steeped in contemplative, mystical practice, affording them insight and perspective on the spiritual journey. Our best informal Guru may well be the person who shares our bed.”

“In popular culture today, we use the term “Guru” a lot and in reference to individuals that are experts categories such as fashion, economics , making it sort of commonplace. However, from the eastern tradition, the word “Guru” in Sanskrit actually means “one who dispels darkness, or one who shows you your highest nature.” So a Guru isn’t someone who tells you what to do or what not to do: rather a Guru is someone who cares for you unconditionally and helps you to realize your potential.”

In today’s culture, there are about as many teachers as there are stars in the sky-metaphorically speaking: but for those that feel the call to find a guru to help them discover their highest potential, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar represents the model of teachers that we need. There are problematic individuals in every group or institution, and to blatantly dismiss all of them would be a disservice to the planet. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and others like him are indeed helping others to dispel the darkness in their lives, and I pride myself in being apart of that tradition of teachers. So I don’t believe that Gurus are a bad group of folks, and I don’t agree with those that trash them, or suggest that we don’t have to have them. I think that healthy teachers allow you to stand on their shoulders and not in their shadows. We had teachers in k-12, as well as college—-what’s wrong with having teachers in Earth school too? It doesn’t make you less than who you say you are if there are others that you model your way of being after…….just be sure not to lose yourself in the process. But a real teacher would never let that happen, at least not while they are in your life.

We make distinctions such as good vs. evil, God vs. the devil and ego vs. shadow because we feel in some way we lack completeness.

In our scramble for wholeness, anything that seems outside of or separate from our understanding of ourselves is often perceived as negative or demonic. Take a look at the word “devil.” It has both German and Greek origins and roughly translates as “diabolous,” which means “to pull apart and hurl” (dia-ballein). And this is how we feel whenever we find ourselves in rough patches—pulled apart and thrown in different directions.

Jung often called the process of using Awareness to bring unconsciousness to consciousness, “individuation.” It’s a process whereby we become more singular: whole, self-actualized, motivated and empowered to commune with Spirit and carry out its deeper wishes for our lives, without any prodding from outside influences.

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“The Science of Love”

Robert Palmer had it right.

One thing is for certain, the research that is available helps to shed light on why divorces and breakups hurt so badly; love is a powerful drug and it’s highly addictive in nature. Some of the same good-feeling chemicals that are released by your brain during the love-process are some of the same chemicals that are released when a drug user gets high. Therefore, the experience of separation from the person that you love mimics the withdrawals that a drug addict exhibits when they are being weaned off of drugs.

During what I would call the “love moment,” not only are specific chemicals released in the brain, but our brain experiences various degrees of strong cognitive activity as well. For example, during states where individuals describe the feeling of being in love, certain areas of the brain associated cognition are stimulated, and chemicals such as oxytocin are released throughout our body systems……………..